jet and i watched BINKY and the NIC in makati for 2 straight weekends many many moons ago. there weren’t many people but it was one of the best concerts we have ever attended. he is one hell of a guy to watch live, i can tell you that.

i remember the very first machine problem given to me by my instructor… it was a simulation of a falling ball. gumawa raw ako ng program that will compute the rate of acceleration ng isang bumabagsak na bola. the height of the drop is to be entered by the user. your program must be able to give the rate of acceleration at any point of the ball’s drop that is also given by the user. in your computation, please use this “so and so i forgot oh it was so long time ago” branch of integral calculus that makes use of “so and so i forgot oh it was so long time ago” fibonacci series. man, i was hooked.

September 15, 2003

“Chinese man makes living as human punch bag“. A 28-year-old Chinese man says he’s making an uncomfortable living as a human ‘punch-bag’. The man charges 50 yuan (about 332 pesos) for every two-minute beating he takes from stressed-out people in Chengdu’s bars and discos. The man, who never fights back, says he’s providing a valuable service to those suffering from tension and work-related pressure. The unusual approach to anger management is said to be proving popular with the public, says the South China Morning Post.”

“I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.”

recorded in stereo by the great george martin during the 1960’s. dinig na dinig ko ang separation ng mga tracks sa headphone ko habang pababa sa elevator. instruments on my left ear, john lennon on my right.

i have my music to accompany me in my walks and measure distance in terms of songs. here we go…

i’m in the street now and make the first turn, Rod Stewart sings “have i told you lately”. i smile and remember my good friend mon, singing this song in a karaoke in manila many moons ago. i decide that van morrison does it much better.

i am in the homestretch now on my last kilometer or so. in a fit of synchronicity, neil young sings “after the gold rush”.. his piano and his voice sounds like its coming from inside my head and i get goose bumps. an indian man is tending the front lawn of a housing block. i smell the smell of newly cut grass and automatically close my eyes. i am transported back to my little garden in antipolo.

malapit na ako sa blue mosque sa likod ng flat namin when i hear the intro of elton john’s“mona lisa’s and madhatters”. magandang kanta to end my morning walk. i go up the flat, peep inside and see jet. i remember the night we watched sir elton here in singapore.

GRADE 4, SECTION: ST. AUGUSTINE. ADVISER: MRS. CAPISTRANO. asawa siya ng advisor namin ng 2nd grade. i remember her with great fondness. she was very pretty and very funny. one time, during the school mass, sa gitna ng sermon ay tinawag niya ako. pag lapit ko eh inapakan ang sapatos ko at sabay bulong sa akin: “pabinyag ha, bago pala ang sapatos mo!”. hehehe. huli kaming nagkita nung EDSA II – bigla ko na lang napansin na katabi ko siya malapit sa EDSA shrine at pareho kaming sumisagaw nang “ERAP RESIGN!”. teacher ko rin sa social studies si mrs. mandreza. she made me study hard because i loved her class. she was a great teacher. i remember this was the time when the first geothermal power plant was being started up in leyte and we spent a lot of time discussing the many great benefits of this new technology. little did i know that i would be part of the team that would rehabilitate this same plant twenty years after.

there you are: my teachers, my friends and my school. i honor them today in celebration of the school’s foundation day. i am 37 years old already and i offer a life well lived as a tribute to all the great characters that were responsible for making me what i am.